Chapter 161: Origin Realm Arc Begins: Frog In Blood Castle

The first task in the Origin Realm is to complete something in the Old Village, the nature of which was unknown, so Scarlett must change her mind about not approaching the frog if she wanted to make some sort of progress here.

The frog was too loud a color. It looked poisonous, or maybe something else.

Seconds later, after attempts to summon her phoenix failed, Scarlett had to take her fire sword and go herself. At that point, she assumed killing the frog might be the key to the quest in the Old Village.

The frog, going by the name Neo, turned around and acknowledged her presence.

〖Welcome, trial aspirant...? My name is Neo. I can accompany you through this Old Village quest, helping you move forward. Just consider me your beast and summon. I’ll fight you, grow with you, and stay with you to the end. What’s in it for me? I want revenge for this village. Used to be lively here, people coming and going, smoke rising from every chimney. But one Martian Frog alone can’t settle that score. So, let’s team up. Each of us gets something out of it.〗

After hearing what Neo had to say, Scarlett understood that he wasn’t an enemy.

Neo was just an NPC in the Origin Realm, meant to help whoever came through. Giving you a Beast, one you could use as your own.

Of course, you could refuse this team-up. But if you didn’t, you’d likely regret it later. At the very least, you’d suffer a lot. This kind of bargain is gone forever once missed.

Scarlett lowered her flame sword.

"My name is Scarlett. I’ll take this trip. But there’s one thing I need to ask—my partner also received an invitation, why hasn’t he arrived yet? Is it because there are different landing points in this Origin Realm, so he landed somewhere else?"

Neo said: 〖No. Master Scarlett, there is only one starting point here.〗

Scarlett was distraught after hearing this because it meant that her aunt had caught Luke, and this left her alone in the Origin Realm.

Being stuck here alone did not matter compared to Luke’s predicament.

Scarlett wanted nothing more than to find her way out and tear Luke free from Brienne’s grip. Anything was acceptable, as long as she could save him. She was willing to risk her life and all her ability.

"I have another question," she said. "Why can’t I summon my beast here? Does this mean you’ll have to take its place and fight for me throughout this trial?"

Neo replied:〖No. No. You need your beast too to fight alongside you if we want to withstand the dangers ahead. If you can’t summon your beast, then investigate—likely the Soul Stasis Law is affecting it. Tell me, your Beast, is it a Phoenix?"〗

"Yes," Scarlett answered expectantly, her eyes filled with hope. "You saw it?"

〖Certainly, yes, I saw it. In the sky. Your beast isn’t even in your soul in the first place, Master Scarlett. It’s long gone.〗

The panic on Scarlett’s face returned.

Seeing the aspirant like that, Neo explained carefully, point by point.

〖There can be many reasons for this. But #1 you must know, Soul Stasis forces aspirants to summon their beasts as soon as they enter, and they can’t dismiss them forever until they leave the Origin Realm. Don’t want to summon it, you still have to. Summon it, and you can’t take it back. Second, Infinite Aeon allows you and your beast to operate at full capacity, with inexhaustible strength, ensuring you’re always at your best. With these two factors combined, your beast would have been summoned long ago, and now it roams freely outside, uncontrollable by anyone. So, let me ask you, what kind of contract do you have with that beast?〗

"Negotiation...Negotiation level." Scarlett stammered, her face full of fear.

Neo thought for a moment and replied, 〖Then there’s still some chance of getting it back. If it were Rebellion-Tier, Master Scarlett, you’d have to say your goodbyes. In the Origin Realm, that kind of bond can’t be recovered. Now, you still have a chance to tame it again. What rank is this phoenix?"〗

Scarlett’s throat tightened with every second. "Mythic rank."

〖Ah, then what are we waiting for?〗Neo said, 〖Let’s finish the quest while we also track it down. Having a Mythic rank beast will make the road ahead in this Hell-level Origin Realm easier!〗

Soon, they arrived at a small castle in the Old Village.

This castle was slightly better than the rest of the village. Though not by much like the moat of the castle was filthy with very dirty water, there were bannermen of bones and a collapsed gate hanging crookedly.

Scarlett was still perplexed with everything that transpired, including something she didn’t think was possible; unable to dismiss your own beast.

Which meant her Empyrean Phoenix, Nymeria, has become independent. No longer answerable to her. Flying wherever it pleased, doing whatever it wanted.

As explained by Neo, the Martian Frog, the reason is that: Soul Stasis + Infinite Aeon + Negotiation-rank contract.

Every other summon can experience Soul Stasis and Infinite Aeon appropriately, but any summon with a Negotiation-rank contract and above with their summoner is different because it’s this very Soul Stasis and Infinite Aeon that makes it not need its master anymore.

The Summoner cannot dismiss the beast.

The beast no longer needed to draw Aeon from its summoner to sustain itself, either.

Whatever its summoner once provided, it had no use for anymore.

In short, this is a bad way to expose whether the beast was ever loyal in the first place, and Scarlett had her answer, however unpleasant.

Her thoughts were interrupted by the system as they reached the entrance of the castle.

〖You have arrived at: Blood Castle.〗

〖Task: Clear the castle and receive a Summoner/Beastmaster talent.〗

Scarlett guessed that this Blood Castle, just as the system said, would later appear in reality and become a gamma-level dungeon.

Which meant this place hadn’t been cleared by anyone yet. First time it had ever come into being. She was the first person to ever lay eyes on it as it truly was.

She gripped her fire sword tightly and looked down at Neo. Neo was only as tall as her knees.

"What are your skills? And what rank are you?" she asked.

〖Count me as Low-Tier Lesser-grade〗Neo said. 〖Not much to me. My tongue shoots out, half a km of range. I secrete venom from my body. A few other small tricks besides.〗

Simultaneously, monsters began to emerge from the castle.

Zombie dogs. Fat, greasy rats that looked like vampires. One after another, they emerged from cracks in doors, windows, and walls, more and more of them.

Scarlett told Neo to fight freely, to use whatever abilities it had just mentioned.

Neo agreed to.

His tongue was as hard as a mountain rope. Just by shooting it out of his mouth, he knocks monsters unconscious. By coiling, half a dozen monsters were bound; a flick, and a shove, and a slam, and a whole bunch were killed, or tossed to Scarlett.

Scarlett swings her flaming sword at every one sent to her.

A flash of fire, and a swarm of monsters decapitated.

Back and forth, working together beautifully.